When loose cargo, i.e., single-item cargo, is loaded and unloaded in cargo holds, it generally must at first be taken from the surroundings to the cargo hold opening and through the latter, free space must be identified in the cargo hold, and the loose cargo must be deposited or stacked, or stowed away there. Loading and unloading loose cargo in a cargo hold of a plane involves a particular difficulty inasmuch as the loose cargo must initially—in a view restricted to the closer surroundings of the plane—be taken up from the tarmac to the cargo hold opening inside the fuselage, be received there while avoiding any damage to the fuselage or to the structure representing it, and then taken to a free space in the cargo hold of the plane and optionally be stacked or stowed away as compact as possible. Here the frequently narrow space conditions are an additional complication, as for example at a cargo hold depth of 8 m or more and a cargo hold height of no more than about 1.15 m in a Boeing 737, personnel charged with loading and unloading the plane can only work in a bent, kneeling, or squatting position. The distance from the cargo hold opening to the rear end of the cargo hold must be covered by sliding on the knees. For stowing away or stacking the loose cargo, the personnel must frequently pick it up while turning backwards over the shoulder, heave it up, and deposit it in a forward direction. Damages or injury to the muscles, sinews or ligaments and also to the musculoskeletal support system can easily happen in the process. As a further present-day complication, at least 5 tons of loose cargo have to be loaded or unloaded within less than 10 minutes for reasons of economy. The personnel working inside the fuselage in the cargo hold moreover has to take care to neither damage the loose cargo nor harm the structure of the cargo hold. This has the result that the movements already highly straining to the musculoskeletal support system of the personnel in question will be performed quickly and heedlessly so as to further raise the risk of injury to personnel.
In order to take loose cargo from the tarmac to the cargo hold opening, or into the adjacent range inside the plane immediately behind the cargo hold opening, from where it may then be stowed away in the cargo hold by the personnel, fundamentally the following approaches are known, for example:
DE 199 61 349 A1 describes a mobile apparatus for loading and unloading planes, comprising a chassis and a conveyor device located on the chassis such as, e.g., a conveyor belt. In order to be able to transport different types of loads, for example loose cargo, from the tarmac or from a transport plane arriving at the plane on the tarmac into the plane by using this mobile apparatus, it is proposed in DE 199 61 349 A1 that this mobile apparatus has a principal conveyor, whose height and inclination in the direction of transport can be adjusted in relation to the chassis, and has at least one transfer conveyor at one longitudinal end of the principal conveyor, that is adapted to pivot about a horizontal transverse axis in relation to the latter. By means of such a mobile apparatus, loose cargo may be taken up from the tarmac to the cargo hold opening of the plane and handed over through the latter into the plane.
As such mobile transport equipment is not available at every airport, however, it has been proposed in DE 297 21 959 U1 to carry such apparatus on the plane. The luggage loading device for planes as described in DE 297 21 959 U1, which comprises a belt conveyor, is mounted on an air freight pallet and stowed away inside the fuselage. During operation, the belt conveyor is extended out through the loading opening of the plane, tilted down to the tarmac, adjusted to the required length, and then propped on the tarmac by its lower end, so that loose cargo may be conveyed up from the tarmac to the cargo hold opening, or out of the latter and down.
WO 98/54073 describes a conveyor organ, the front portion of which may be introduced through a cargo hold opening into the cargo hold of a plane, moved across the cargo hold floor by means of casters, which conveyor organ is to provide a conveyor belt leading from the tarmac to the rear end of the cargo hold as a support for the loading and unloading operation that is in this case also performed manually by a person. In order to operate the conveyor organ, it is advanced towards the plane on the tarmac, a first portion thereof is raised to the height of the cargo hold opening in the manner of an inclined plane, another portion is introduced into the cargo hold opening, bent there by 90 degrees, and then another portion is extended in parallel with the inside wall in the cargo hold from the cargo hold opening to the rear end of the cargo hold. An additional table, which is erected on the floor at the rear end, is to extend across the entire width of the cargo hold and is adjustable in height. Suitcases, sacks or the like goods may thus be loaded and unloaded, with loading being performed by transporting these goods with the aid of the conveyor belt from the tarmac to the end of the conveyor belt in the cargo hold in front of the table, from where they are dragged onto the table by the person kneeling at the table, and dragged on across the latter to then push them onto the stack of loose cargo to be formed. The apparatus described in WO 98/540734 has the drawback that when either one of the table and conveyor organ is handled inappropriately, harm or damage to the structure of the plane must inevitably be feared. If the table is adjusted in height with loose cargo placed on it, there is a risk of the inside wall being damaged immediately by its ends adjacent thereto. During introduction of the extremely long and unwieldy conveyor belt, damage to the cargo hold opening cannot be ruled out. Moreover this auxiliary apparatus is of little help, for whenever a row of loose cargo has been stacked, it must be moved back for a distance, positioned anew, and connected with the table which equally has to be oriented anew.
In DE 100 07 332 A1, an alternative embodiment of a base vehicle is discussed that is capable of travelling on the tarmac and comprises an endless conveyor belt reaching into the cargo hold. DE 100 07 332 A1 proposes reversible conveyor means for cargo items, including a outrigger that is pivotable and adjustable in height and length, for loading and unloading luggage items in passenger planes. Transition stations are to be avoided. Handling of the pieces of luggage, or stowing and removing them in the cargo hold is here again performed manually by persons working on site.
In order to facilitate the work of the personnel in the cargo hold, a loading device for a cargo hold of a plane has been proposed by the present applicant, e.g., in DE 42 38 095 A1. This cargo hold loading device, well-tried under rough everyday conditions during loading and unloading of planes, is successfully advertised by the applicant, i.a. by the prospectus “The Sliding Carpet Loading System”. This transport means, which covers the surface of the floor in the cargo hold, serves preferably for intermittently conveying the loose cargo towards the inside of the cargo hold and its rear end during loading, and away from it during unloading, with the front end of the transport means reaching into the range of the cargo hold opening inside the fuselage, and having the form of a transport carpet in a particularly successful embodiment.
These apparatus or transport means do help to facilitate or reduce the use of human labor in the cargo hold, however they still require the use of human labor, preferably in the range of the cargo hold hatch. As before, personnel must receive the luggage or loose cargo, conveyed by the external conveyor organ from the tarmac up to the cargo hold opening, while in an extremely uncomfortable working position, and deposit it in the cargo hold across the width of the fuselage on the front end of the transport means having the form of a transport carpet, for instance, and thereby successively convey it into the inside of the cargo hold. Accordingly, for unloading it is in turn necessary to use personnel who successively fetch the loose cargo by means of the transport means in the cargo hold into the range of the cargo hold opening, takes up the loose cargo, carries it in an uncomfortable position, whether bent or squatting, to the end of the external conveyor device projecting into the cargo hold opening, delivers it there, and then conveys it down to the tarmac with the aid of the external conveyor device.
Moreover the personnel charged with these works frequently receives poor payment, is inadequately trained, and thus only insufficiently motivated. Accordingly, inadvertent damage to the structure of the plane in the cargo hold and preferably in the range of the cargo hold opening often happens, although this expressly is to be avoided. As a result, immense costs are caused by the necessary repairs and the related down periods of the plane.